Opposition Lawmaker Adamos Adamou Elected Parliament Speaker In Cyprus

Adamos Adamou, a lawmaker from Cypriot opposition Progressive Party of Working People, was elected speaker of the Cypriot parliament on Friday, following Demetris Syllouris' resignation earlier in October over a scandal with so-called golden passports, media reported

ATHENS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd October, 2020) Adamos Adamou, a lawmaker from Cypriot opposition Progressive Party of Working People, was elected speaker of the Cypriot parliament on Friday, following Demetris Syllouris' resignation earlier in October over a scandal with so-called golden passports, media reported.

Syllouris resigned on October 15 after an Al-Jazeera report implicated him and dozens of other high-ranking officials in a scheme to assist a fictional Chinese investor with a criminal record to get a Cypriot passport through the golden passport scheme. The scheme prescribes that foreign criminals could purchase an EU passport through the country's citizenship-by-investment mechanism.

According to the Politis newspaper, 53 lawmakers voted to support Adamou, who is the most senior lawmaker in parliament, and two lawmakers abstained.

Adamou said in a short address that politics had reached an extreme point at all levels, with politicians losing their dignity in the eyes of citizens.

"For the time remaining before the expiration of the term of duties of parliament, we must try to recover a little. We must earn trust and dignity," he said, as quoted by the news outlet.

The next parliamentary elections in Cyprus are scheduled for May 2021.

Cyprus, Malta and Bulgaria currently offer citizenship in exchange for sizable investment in the country, while 19 EU countries offer a residence permit.

The Cypriot citizenship by investment scheme is believed to have raised up to 9.7 billion Euros for the country's economy since its introduction in 2013 as part of efforts to combat a severe financial crisis.